


A Devil's Boredom

by AnnaNSmith



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Character Death, Devil Klaus, F/M, Human Caroline, Hurt/Comfort, Innocent/Pure Caroline, Set between Season 2 and 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 13:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3210875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaNSmith/pseuds/AnnaNSmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - Human Caroline is being abused by her boyfriend and a curious Original decides to follow the light of the broken angel. - After saving a beautiful human girl, Klaus becomes fascinated and engrossed in her pure nature. Being confronted with Caroline's innocence his believes of centuries to be only a devil are shaken. But even devils need to be loved, they just have to meet an angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Klaus was sitting at the bar, drinking his fourth bourbon so far. His mood was good, he just broke his moon curse a few days ago and now he enjoyed embracing his werewolf side again. Since he broke the curse, the sun seemed to shine brighter, the air seemed to be fresher, and the meals seemed to taste better. He felt reborn and ready to take on something new. Maybe he would try creating other hybrids like himself next. He decided to keep that thought in mind and emptied his glass. Signaling the bartender to pour him another drink, he raised his hand, before he turned around on his stool, having a look at the rest of the guests.

Many young people frequented this place he recognized. There were some guys playing pool, a few couples making out, and also a very loud group of high school girls gossiping. Only looking at them gave one already the impression that they were superficial, pretentious, arrogant skanks, if one were to actually listen to them, they would think even worse. They were talking about a "friend" from school it seemed and how she was apparently flirting her way out of P.E.

"I'm telling you, the way she always seeks Mr. Teagen out at the beginning of class, no way they are just talking! I mean, come on, she's practically missing every week and we're to believe he is just putting up with this without some kind of incentive?" The brunette told the rest of the girls with a condescending look on her face.

"Teresa, you're so bad," another brunette with blonde highlights replied and they all started laughing.

"You know I'm right." The first one took a smug sip from her cocktail.

"I just don't understand why she has to cheat on Ryan. I mean he's perfect, he's hot, athletic, cute, he is captain of the basketball team, he has his own car, he's perfect! She doesn't even deserve him and dares to sleep around behind his back, she's such a slut!" The Asian girl amongst the girls said and earned a simultaneous eager nodding in agreement.

"I know, right? I don't understand what he sees in her."

"Obviously an easy girl," the girl named Teresa replied or as Klaus nicknamed her in his head, the mother hen. Everyone laughed again until the Asian girl pointed at the entrance suddenly, flailing with her other hand repeatedly to get her friend's attention.

"Oh my god, speaking of the devil! Here she is, look!"

"You're right, she's here with Ryan and his friends."

"Is she trying to show off or something? We get it, you're together with the hottest guy in school. God, she's so annoying!"

"She needs the attention. It's not like she has any friends."

"Who would want to be friends with her? I rather wear my mum's clothes to school for an entire week!"

"You wouldn't! Shut up!"

"Believe me, I wouldn't want to be seen together with her for even a minute. Look at what she's wearing. Can you believe it?"

"Is she honestly wearing a Donna Karan scarf? That's so yesterday."

"Right? And look at her cardigan. BORING!" The girls broke out into laughter, a little bit too loud though, as the blonde girl with the "boring" cardigan turned around noticing them. They all immediately put on their fake smiles and waved toward her, mouthing greetings from the distance. She returned the smile, before she was pulled close to her boyfriend, as Klaus guessed, who arrogantly made his way to a booth in the corner with his other buddies.

She was beautiful to say the least. Klaus' eyes followed her immediately. Her golden locks bounced elegantly with every step she took, her lips had a lovely red color, her fair skin was radiant and without needing to touch her, Klaus knew it would feel so smooth under his touch. He imagined her lying beneath him.

However, there was one thing that bothered him about her. He could not put his finger on it, but there was something about her that did not feel right. He kept looking at her and his boyfriend from the bar where he was sitting. The young bloke put his arm possessively around her. He would sometimes pull her closer or lean in for a kiss. His friends were loud and unrefined, just like he himself was. They were drinking beer, except her who ordered only a coke. He seemed annoyed about that, complaining about how she was always such a buzz kill for not enjoying herself like they did. Offering her his beer, he became more insistent that she should drink with them. She was trying to refuse him and asked him to stop, but he became only more relentless. He literally shoved the drink in front of her face and held a tight grip around her for her to stop struggling. Without much choice she had to comply finally and drank some of it. Her boyfriend seemed to be satisfied with that and turned his attention back to his friends. They kept laughing about stupid things and bragged about their triumph in one of their basketball matches against another school. The blonde girl was looking out the window for most of the time, not listening to her companions.

Suddenly, Klaus knew what it was that has been bothering him, since he first saw her. She looked sad and lifeless. She was sitting there like a doll, like an accessory of her boyfriend's. Neither of them really paid attention to her, nor did she look like she wanted to be there. She looked like a bird in a cage, watching the outside like she was yearning to be there instead.

She excused herself to go to the restroom and spent an awful long time there. When she came back, she told her boyfriend she was not feeling well and asked him whether she could head back earlier. She asked him. Her behavior was a little odd. Klaus noticed she had been hesitant to tell him and she was only talking to him, rather than telling everyone she was not feeling well. It was like she was subtly asking him for permission to leave.

He regarded her up and down and after contemplating her request in his head he finally nodded once, 'allowing' her to leave. She grabbed her purse, gave him a chaste goodbye kiss on the cheek, and hurried out of the bar. Klaus left a hundred dollar bill on the counter and followed her outside. He did not know why he went after her, he told himself it was boredom and simply curiosity of some human affairs.

The blonde girl, whose name he still did not know, went down the street. It was dark and quiet outside, he guessed it was already half past eleven and no time for a beautiful girl like her to walk alone the streets. Her boyfriend was a disgrace to all gentlemen in the world for letting her go home by herself. Without noticing Klaus a few feet behind her, she made her way home slowly. She would often stare up to the moon and Klaus wondered what she might be thinking about in these moments. He found joy in observing her, maybe it was because he had been in such a good mood or maybe it was because she was so beautiful or maybe it was because he had had already a couple of drinks and nothing better to do this night. Not dwelling about his motivation he just kept following her.

She was crossing an intersection when a car sped down the street. The music was extremely loud and from inside you could hear squeals and laughter of excitement. A group of young boys and girls were having a party on their way to one it seemed. They were drinking and smoking while driving way too fast. The car slurred around, the young lad not being able to drive properly due to the drunken state he was in. Instead he just honked the horn for the blonde girl on the street to get out of his way.

Her legs twitched automatically in an attempt to evade the car which was driving what had to be over more than 40 miles per hour. But, suddenly, she just stopped in her action. She did not move, she stood there still. The driver panicked all of a sudden, seeing how she did not move away. He hit the brakes with all he got, but it was already too late, there was no chance he could make it in time.

The girl exhaled one crooked breath and, to Klaus' surprise, just closed her eyes. Tears rolling down her face. The car spun out of control and hit a street light with full force, crashing everything that was in its way.

The blonde found herself in a side alley on the opposite pedestrian way from where she had been before. A man was standing in front of her, one of his hands holding her by her upper arm. Her brain had difficulties processing everything that happened the last fifteen seconds since she had seen the car driving toward her for the first time and which was now wrapped around a street light. A split second ago she was still standing in the middle of the street about to be hit by the car, but now she was in front of a stranger who regarded her perplexed. So many questions flooded her mind, but the turmoil stopped when a realization hit her, suddenly. She was alive. The car did not hit her.

An uneven breath escaped her and all the tension lifted from her body at once, making her legs feel like jelly. Klaus supported her in time, before she could slump down to the ground and held her against his chest. She had fainted and Klaus was now standing in a side alley with an unconscious human blonde girl in his arms.

 

After approximately an hour later the girl woke up in an unfamiliar surrounding. She was lying on something soft and an enticing smell surrounded her. When she opened her eyes she was confused on where she was. It was dark and only the moon light spend some sort of illumination to the room she was in. She sat up and looked around, trying to make something out in the dark, when a man's voice startled her all of a sudden.

"You're finally awake." She shrieked in response and darted her head to the voice's direction to see who was talking.

"Who are you?" She stammered.

"My name is Klaus and what is your lovely name?"

"Caroline," she answered hesitantly.

"Caroline," Klaus let the name roll down his tongue. It was very pleasant.

"Where am I?" She asked, her hand clutching the duvet nervously.

"At my place, in my room, on my bed," Klaus replied, enjoying the reaction he triggered in her. She immediately shrieked back a little, holding the duvet even tighter in front of her.

"Why? What happened?" She barely crooked out.

"You fainted in my arms and I couldn't just leave you on the streets, now could I? What man would I be? Since I did not know where you lived I just brought you here," Klaus explained as a matter of fact, as if it was the most natural conclusion to bring a defenseless, unconscious young girl into his home in the middle of the night.

Caroline thought about what he had said a while, before she nodded once understanding. "Thank you."

Now that was something Klaus did not expect to hear. He had prepared to see her scared or angry, but not seeing her find relief in what he had said just now.

"Do you know what happened before you fainted?" Klaus asked, regarding her curiously.

"There was a car accident," she said collected, remembering what took place only an hour ago. "But the car didn't hit me."

The last part surprised her the moment she muttered them to herself. Why did the car not hit her? She was sure she had been only inches away from it.

Klaus mustered her how she was absent-mindedly going through the events of this night in her head. He was trying to figure her out.

"You saved me," she concluded surprised. "How did you do that? I didn't even see you coming."

"But you saw the car coming," Klaus evaded her question. "You had plenty of time to avoid the car, but you just stood there, not moving at all. Why?"

All humor and wittiness were gone and Klaus regarded her serious, waiting for her to answer.

"I-" she stammered a couple of times.

"Did you want to kill yourself?" He suddenly leaned in from above her. Only a second ago he had been sitting in a chair across the room and now he was standing in front of her. How did he do that?

"No," she immediately answered. She was honest, she truly had not wished to kill herself.

"Tell me the truth," he said, while his eyes dilated, compelling her.

"I really did not want to kill myself. When I saw the car coming toward me I just..." She was looking for the right words.

"You just what?" This question gnawed on him since he had seen her on the street. The images of her closing her eyes and crying only a few seconds before the car was about to hit her had constantly repeated themselves in his head since then. He had to know what she had been thinking.

"I just thought it was okay for the car to hit me, it was okay for me to die," she answered.

That was an unusual way to react he thought. Normally he had witnessed people quivering under his hands, begging him to let them live, however pathetic their lives actually were. And yet she ignored her instincts to survive and awaited the car to kill her.

"Why would you think it's okay to die?"

"I never thought about the possibility to just die, but when I saw the car I realized it is probably easier to die than to live," she replied bluntly, still under the influence of the compulsion.

"Is it because you're being abused by your boyfriend?" Klaus asked and he could see in her eyes the horror of someone having found out her secret.

"How- how did you know?" Her breathing became uneven and her heart was hammering so hard he would have been able to hear it even without his vampire hearing.

Klaus leaned even closer going for the scarf around her neck. He slowly pulled on it, removing the scarf. "You're wearing a scarf, a cardigan, and long jeans in summer? You are quiet and try to please your boyfriend. You always make sure to tuck on your sleeves even unconsciously so that they wouldn't roll up by accident, revealing the bruises underneath. It wasn't hard to figure out."

He let the scarf fall next to her on the bed and even though it was dark the bruises on her neck, that must have been a result from someone choking her, could not be missed. With a finger he caressed the bruised spot softly, making her shiver in response. He pushed her hair behind her shoulder and pulled the side of her beige cardigan slightly down unveiling other marks on her upper arm. Tears streamed down her face, being ashamed of someone seeing her like this.

"Why do you put up with this? Are you afraid to leave him?" He sat next to her, his face only inches away from hers.

She did not reply right away and the silence was answer enough. Her eyes avoided his and she shifted her attention to the duvet in her hands.

"Have you told someone else so far?" Klaus lifted her head up so that she would face him again.

"No," she answered with a broken voice.

"Why don't you defend yourself at all?" He sounded almost angry about her apathy, about why she did not fight back, about the fact that she had practically already given up.

"Ryan, he loves me very much. It would break his heart," she said with teary eyes.

"And so you'll let him break yours?" It was more of a statement than an actual question. Klaus was frustrated about this young girl. For some unknown reason he could not ignore her, he wanted to talk to her, he wanted to understand her unusual way of thinking. But the more questions he asked her the more bothered he became with her answers.

"He's not completely bad. He does love me. It's just sometimes he loves me too much," the blonde tried to find some kind of justification for her boyfriend's behavior.

"What love, sweetheart? What kind of man lies a hand on the one he loves?" Klaus pointed out harshly.

"Love can take on different forms. There can be love where you wouldn't expect it. Like the way he can't live without me," Caroline started, looking him deep into his eyes, entrancing him with her words. "Or the way a stranger saves a weak girl's life and shows her kindness, caring for her even though he doesn't have any reason to do so."

Speechless he stared into her eyes, seeing only honesty and sincerity in them. He did not know how to handle her, he was at a loss, so all he could do was to tear himself away from her wide blue eyes to find his composure again, before he would be sucked in to the sudden strange emotions he felt for her.

"Don't think too noble of me I am just intrigued. In all my years I have not seen quite a girl like you," he said, having stood up by now, in an effort to avoid letting her have such an effect on him.

His choice of words was a little odd she noticed somewhere in the back of her head, but she was too preoccupied by his obvious pretenses of not caring, depicting himself as something bad, even though she could see he was kindhearted deep down. At least to her he had been attentive and willing to see beyond the facade she put up daily, seeing what was really going on. He was actually the first person who showed concern for her in a long time. She did not blame her family and friends for not noticing what was happening to her. After all she was doing her best trying to hide it from them. Yet it only took an evening for this stranger to see beyond that.

"No matter what your reasons are," she spoke to his back. "You have saved me nonetheless. In more than one way."

He turned around, perplexed by her words and at this moment the urge to call her his was originating so rapidly and intensely, he knew he would not be able to forget her existence anymore.

For several more moments he just watched her like he saw an angel full of light sitting broken on his bed. And he decided to let his life cross a human's for a change.

"Do you wish to free yourself from him?" His voice changed slightly, as if the devil himself was talking.

Caroline forgot to breathe for a moment, all she could do was stare at him with wide eyes, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"Live a life rid of his existence, live as the beauty you are untainted by his hands," he said, walking toward her.

He reached her his hand and waited for her response. Her face was blank. In this moment there should have actually been thousands of voices in her head, processing the situation and telling her what to do, but there was nothing. Absolute silence. She just stared at the hand he offered her and the greater meaning behind it.

And without a reasonable explanation she just went with her primary instinct. She took his hand and stood up in front of him and even though she should have felt scared in this situation, she did not. She was drawn to him on an inexplicable level.

"Next time he hurts you you will not take it silently, you will call me, you understand?" He compelled her.

She nodded in response and his eyes returned to their original form.

"Will you really come if I call you?" She asked, trying to believe his words, trying to believe that someone was actually willing to save her.

"I will," he replied without a hint of doubt in his words.


	2. Chapter 2

Klaus was vigorously working on a new canvas in his study. His feelings were in a turmoil. What was he doing? He took interest in a human girl, so much that he started to meddle in her affairs. After driving her home, he gave her his cell phone number and compelled her again to tell him immediately if her boyfriend were to lay a hand on her again. Once would have sufficed, but he wanted to make sure.

Even though the sun was starting to rise he could not head to bed. He could not get her out of his head, she was all he could think about. This behavior was very unlike him. He stopped himself from continuing and decided to get a change of scenery by going out. Maybe this would clear his head a little, he thought.

He tried to distract himself by looking into some information he had received earlier this week. Apparently a whole werewolf pack was outside in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. They would just be perfect for his little experiment. Since he broke his curse and became a hybrid again, he wanted to create more of his own. He wanted to create a race that was superior to any other. An army that would stand loyal behind him.

By the time he got home a familiar face was sitting on his doorsteps.

"Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting my humble home?"

"I need your help," the young man said jadedly. "My brother was bitten by a werewolf."

"Ah, the fatal werewolf venom. You're right in coming to me. I'm sure we can help each other out," Klaus said with a wicked smile. "Let's talk inside, shall we, Stefan?"

 

 

"Hey mom, you just got home?" Caroline greeted her mother who just came back from work. She had not come home for the entire night and it was already 12pm.

"There was a car crash right around the Grill. Some stupid kids were drunk and high and hit a street lamp," Sheriff Forbes explained exhausted.

Caroline tried to act normal and pretended she had not known about the accident, much less had been there.

"That's horrible. Is everyone fine?" Caroline asked genuinely concerned. She felt guilty since she was at fault, too.

"They're in pretty bad shape. Looking at the scene they must have been driving way above the speed limit. It's a miracle they're even alive," she replied and then looked at her daughter worriedly. "They're about the same age as you. Please be careful while you drive, okay? Don't drive too fast. Don't drink. And don't you take drugs!"

"I know, mom. I don't," Caroline actually had to smile about her mother's concern. She hugged her and let her mother stroke through her hair. Ironically this was more soothing for her mother than it was for her. She chuckled quietly against the crook of her mother's neck before she tore herself away from her.

"I'm so happy to have you in my life, sweety. I don't know what I'd do without you. Promise me you'll be more careful when you're out at night, okay? The kid who was driving was rumbling on and on about a girl he had almost hit."

"What?" Caroline caught her breath.

"He was talking about a girl who apparently stood in the middle of the street and while he tried to evade her they crashed against the street lamp. But there was no girl anywhere and nobody saw a person that matched the description. I think he was just too high and hallucinated."

"I-I see," Caroline tried to find her equilibrium again.

"What would I do if it was you? I can't even go there," her mother said, not knowing how close she had been in losing her daughter. Caroline felt guilty all of a sudden. Even though she actually had not wanted to kill herself, truth was that she also had not tried to prevent it from happening. And although she did not regard her existence as meaningful, she never thought about her mother. How could she be fine leaving her mother alone by herself. Letting her go through the most horrible experience a parent could think of - losing their child.

Stricken with guilt she felt she was the most terrible person. She hugged her mother again and promised her she would be more careful in the future as to not get hurt. And she did not only mean walking the streets at night, evading drunks driving cars. She realized that she did not live only for herself and that she should cherish herself more. Something had to change and she finally had the courage to face something she had been too scared to do until now.

"That reminds me I got something for you," her mother said and went to the living room, searching through a drawer. "Here you go, sweety."

She handed her a small present. The box was unskillfully wrapped with violet wrapping paper and the two sides of the ribbon were unmatched. It was so like her mother, she had never been the wifey type, engrossed in baking, sewing or gift wrapping. All the more Caroline loved the effort her mother had put into this.

"Why did you get me a present? It's not even my birthday," Caroline asked surprised while opening it.

"Just a little something. I feel better if you have it."

Inside the box there was a cute leather bracelet with a flowery pattern carved into it.

"It's beautiful, mom. Thank you!" Caroline really loved the bracelet and she asked her mom to put it on immediately. But somewhere in the back of her head, she wondered why her mother gave her this out of the blue.

"I'm glad you like it. I'd like it if you wore it often," she said and squeezed her hand lightly.

"I will!" Caroline promised and hugged her mother once more.

"Okay, honey. I think we have reached the limit of hugs for today. My back won't take much more. Let me go to sleep, I'm tired," she said with a smile on her face.

"Of course. I was about to go out anyway," she replied.

"You're meeting Ryan?" Caroline nodded once, nervous about seeing him.

"Alright then I won't wait for you for dinner," she said, knowing she usually came home late when she was with her boyfriend.

"Actually I think I'll be home earlier today," Caroline responded, trying to find courage in her own words. She decided she was going to end it with him after all.

"I'll order take out then. How about Chinese?"

"Sounds good, mom." With that she left her mother alone and went outside, heading to her boyfriend's.

 

 

On her way to him she could feel her legs weaken, her heart racing, and her breathing accelerating. Never had she felt more afraid in her life than now. However, she was also never more determined as she was at this moment. She knew this had something to do with the mysterious man she met last night. Klaus.

He had saved her, he had figured out that her boyfriend was hitting her, and he had offered her help. She did not know why she trusted him, but she believed his words. They were sincere and his intentions were good, she just knew. There was no reasonable explanation of trusting a complete stranger. However, on some unfathomable level, she felt drawn to him.

Once she was in front of his apartment she hesitated a few minutes before she finally rang the bell. Unconsciously she checked her pockets for her cell phone a couple of times. Just in case Ryan would not take it well she wanted to call the man named Klaus for help. It was strange how much she already depended on him even though they just met a few hours before.

There was the loud buzzing coming from the door and she pushed it open. Nervously she went upstairs to the third floor, going through the words on how she wanted to break up with him over and over in her head.

"Hi Ryan," she greeted him softly. His face was stern and impassive. He did not reply and just waited for her to come inside.

She entered the living room and stood in front of the couch where Ryan was sitting down. The TV was on, broadcasting a football game. Cans of beer were scattered all over the place and two boxes with left over pizzas were lying on the coffee table. The place was a mess. She automatically reached for the empty cans in an attempt to clean the place when Ryan lashed out on her all of a sudden.

"Leave it!"

Caroline shrieked back immediately. She honestly did not know what she did wrong. Was this still about yesterday? She had had the impression he had been fine with her leaving early, but apparently he was not.

"I'm sorry I went home early last night. I wasn't feeling well," Caroline apologized, trying to soothe his anger. He let out an irritated sound in response.

"Oh, well, if the angel isn't feeling well, how can I be mad about it?" He asked rhetorically, reaching for another can of beer and not looking at her.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" She asked, noticing that something was off about him today.

"What's wrong with me? Everything is perfect! Just perfect!" He squeezed the can hard and smashed it against the ground next to her. She yelped out in response, surprised by his outburst.

"Look, I see you don't feel well, I'll leave you alone," she said, concentrating on an even voice. She tried to leave as she realized he was in a very bad mood and it scared her.

"Why did you come?" He stopped her, though still looking at the television screen.

"It's okay, I'll tell you another time," she replied quickly, trying to take her leave again.

"Where were you last night?" He asked her menacingly. Her heart skipped a beat and it felt like it had stopped entirely until it started to pump her blood so quickly, she could hear her heart beat in her own ears.

"What do you mean? I went home after I was with you and the others," she tried to sound as normal as she could. He turned off the TV and stood up, turning around to her. Although he was standing about fifteen feet away from her, she clasped on her cell phone in her pocket scared.

"You went straight home?" He asked her, his voice unreadable.

"Yes," she crooked out.

"I tried calling you."

"I went right to sleep. As I said I wasn't feeling too well," Caroline lied as convincingly as she could.

"WHY ARE YOU LYING TO ME?!" He walked toward her and grabbed her by her arms.

"I'm not lying! Ryan, stop it! You're hurting me!" She cried out.

"STOP LYING TO ME!" He slapped her hard on her face, making her fall to the floor. "I saw you! I saw you with that man!"

Caroline’s eyes widened and the tears she had tried to hold back started pouring out.

"Yes, I know! I tried calling you, but you wouldn't pick up, so I went to your house, but no one was home. So I waited. And you know who I saw leaving a man's car in the middle of the night?! Who was talking to that man on her porch for several minutes?! Who couldn't stop looking at him with her big blue eyes?!"

"Ryan I can explain! Please listen to me!" But instead of hearing her out he kicked her, although she was already lying on the ground.

"How long have you been sleeping around my back already, huh?!" He kicked her again, ignoring her sobs and pleas for him to stop. "HOW LONG?!"

"It's not like that, please stop..." she begged him, trying to brace herself for the next kick.

"How could you do this to me?! I love you! Why are you doing this to me?!" Tears started to stream down his face, making him only more violent. "Did you come here today to break up with me?! Because of him?! You're leaving me for him?!"

Caroline tried to get away from him, slowly crawling to the door. She had never seen him this angry before and she knew she had to get out of there, otherwise she was not sure whether she would survive this one.

"No, I won't let you leave me! I won't! I WON'T, YOU HEAR ME?!" He grabbed her by her hair and straddled her on the floor. After he slapped her twice he ripped off her scarf and placed his hands around her neck, adding pressure on it. "I won't let you leave me. I love you too much..."

"S-Stop it, please!" She crooked out, terrified. She couldn't breathe and she panicked. He was too strong to push him off of herself and her attempts to hurt him in order to free herself were in vain. She struggled with him desperately, but it was no use.

This was it, she thought. She would die like this. And even though she had been accepting of such a fate just the night before, she desperately wanted to stay alive now. She did not want to die. Not like this. Not after she finally saw a light in her life.

With the last strength she could summon she reached for the empty bottle of tequila next to her and hit his head with it. He cried out in pain and collapsed next to her on the floor. Coughing and shaking she stood up and stumbled to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She instinctively reached for her cell phone and called the one man who promised her he would help her.

After the first ring he picked up and his voice sounded serious and concerned. "Caroline?"

"K-Klaus?" She sobbed into her cell phone.

"Where are you?" He asked straight away. He had compelled her to call him should her boyfriend hit her again and the second he saw her name on his cell phone's display he knew she was in trouble and he did not want to lose any time.

"I'm at his place," she said shakily. "He tried to k-kill me, Klaus. Please help me!"

"Who are you talking to?!" Ryan's voice echoed from behind the door, making Caroline jump in surprise. He tried to open the door, rattling on the door knob. "Is it him?! I'm going to kill him! OPEN THE DOOR!"

"I-I'm so scared, Klaus... Help me, please," she whispered, crying.

"Listen to me, you will calm down. Because I will come. I gave you my word I will come, do you trust me?" He tried to assure her.

She visibly relaxed a little, her breathing slowed down, she stopped shaking so hard, and she did not feel as scared anymore. He gave her something she could concentrate on, something she could hold onto.

"Yes," she replied, genuinely trusting him.

"Good, love. Now give me the address." She complied and he told her he would be there in two minutes. How could he be there so fast, she wondered, but she believed him nonetheless. Two minutes. She only had to hold on for two more minutes. "Try to get out of there, can you do that?"

Since he had never been invited to the apartment, he had to get her out before he could help her. Although he was very creative when it came to forcing his way inside, he did not want to lose any time. She was scared and he did not want to leave her in this situation any longer than he had to.

"I'll try," she said weak.

"I will come, Caroline," he told her with much emphasis before he hang up.

"Who are you talking to?! Open the door!" He pounded against the door.

Caroline stood up and walked across the small room to the window. She opened it and looked down the backyard. It seemed so very high. But she had to get out of there. There was a bush alongside the building's wall and if she managed to jump right into it, it might cushion her fall, she thought.

She climbed up onto the window sill and tried to find the courage to jump out. But her legs would not move, she was too scared. Behind her she could hear Ryan running against the bathroom's door in order to break in and she knew it would only be seconds until he succeeded.

She repeated the stranger's words in her head, that he would come for her. She focused on her memories of him, how he had saved her already before, the first time she saw him. The confusion she had seen in his eyes, the hard face, but also the tender touch with which he held her in his arms. And also the second time she saw him, when she woke up in his home. His sophisticated appearance, his English charm, but also the loneliness she saw behind that facade. A lonely soul just like herself.

The door tore from its hinges and she could hear Ryan call her name from behind. And in this moment she closed her eyes and let go. She jumped out the window and fell three stories down.

It felt liberating. She always regarded the situation between her and Ryan as normal, she was used to it. And even though he treated her horribly, she always knew he did it because he was not able to express his love any other way. She felt like she ought to stay with him, because deep down he was loving her in his own way and she had to try handling it. But that was not what love is. She did not love him and she could not stay with him any longer, simply because she owed it to him. Even though she needed a complete stranger to open her eyes for her, the step she just took out the window, was her own. She freed herself from him with her own means.

Bracing herself for the hard impact she closed her eyes again and held her breath.

"When I said to get out of the building I didn't mean for you to break your neck by jumping down a three story high apartment complex," Caroline heard a familiar voice say next to her ear.

Klaus was carrying her in his arms, breathing heavily from running at full speed for two and a half miles.

"You came," she exhaled. "You really came!"

She started to cry and laugh at the same time. And even though he saw her all beat up, bruised from obviously being hit just a few minutes before, the sound of her heavenly giggling distracted him so much that his anger subsided for a moment. Unable to stay unaffected from the gorgeous scene in front of him waves of chuckling escaped from his mouth as well.

"I am a man of my words," he pointed out. Well, at least sometimes, he added the last part silently in his head.

"Thank you," she said softly, sincerely grateful. He looked into her blue eyes and became entranced immediately. It felt almost like compulsion only that he was the one being compelled for the first time. By her, her innocence and her light.

He nodded once before he tore himself away from her gaze. Ryan had witnessed the whole scene from above and vanished from the window. He was on his way down.

"As promised I will take care of him. Take a seat and enjoy the show," he said smiling wickedly. Caroline was put down next to the building wall and she regarded Klaus quizzically. What did he plan to do?


	3. Chapter 3

Seeing her falling down the window he could have sworn his heart sank to his boots. Her hands had been resting on her chest, her eyes were closed, and her golden locks danced goddess like around her beautiful angelic face. That was exactly what she looked like - like an angel in the air.

She had looked so at peace while falling down it left him astonished and breathless at the same time. He could never figure this girl out. She was so different from all the various kinds of people he had met over the past millennium, he was fascinated by her.

"When I said to get out of the building I didn't mean for you to break your neck by jumping down a three story high apartment complex."

Having caught her was a close call, he had almost not made it. Upon the close proximity he saw how badly her condition was. Her face was terribly bruised and he could smell blood from under her clothes. He sighed angered and already went through his head on how he should pay that lowly human back for what he did when he heard a lovely laughter coming from his arms.

"You came. You really came!" She said laughing and crying at the same time.

And there went his anger. Gone for the moment. She hold onto him tightly and she looked so happy in that moment it actually warmed his heart. He could not help himself but laugh as well.

"I am a man of my words," he pointed out.

"Thank you," she said softly. And he was immediately entranced by her. She was so full of light even in the darkest moments. It was hard for him to keep the eye contact as he felt like he was losing himself in her.

He nodded once before he tore himself away from her gaze. Ryan had witnessed the whole scene from above and vanished from the window. He was on his way down.

"As promised I will take care of him. Take a seat and enjoy the show," he said smiling wickedly. Caroline was put down next to the building wall and she regarded Klaus quizzically.

She was clueless on what he would do, so all she could do was watch him.

"I will kill you!" Ryan arrived in the backyard. "Nobody touches my girl! No one!"

Klaus only huffed at the delusional human who was threatening to kill him. It was about time to teach him a lesson.

"Now, I really don't appreciate people threatening me," Klaus said slowly and rushed to him in a split second, grabbing him by his neck. "Especially not threats coming from some arrogant brat who doesn't know his place."

He threw him against the building with one hand, making Ryan cry out in pain and cough heavily.

"What the hell? H-How did you do that?" Ryan stammered, crouching on the ground.

Caroline was asking herself the same question. And suddenly all the mysterious situations she had witnessed connected. The way he had saved her from the car, the way he was moving so quickly, the way he was there almost immediately after she had called him, the way he had caught her so easily in his arms, and now the way he just sent Ryan flying with so much ease.

Her heart missed a beat and she stared at the mysterious stranger in shock.

"Let's not waste time talking about mechanics, you have more urgent things to concentrate on I'd say," Klaus mused, closing in on him. He lifted him up by his collar and made him look into his eyes.

"Tell me every way you have hurt Caroline before," he compelled him. "Let's see how you like it having done the same thing to you."

Ryan was like an inferior animal staring right into the eyes of a predator. Klaus could almost smell the fear pouring out of every pore of his body. He smiled mischievously. He was going to enjoy the following.

"As I see it you hit her repeatedly. Is that right?" Klaus asked playfully. Due to the compulsion Ryan nodded without a choice.

Klaus smiled wickedly and punched him in response. His victim cried out painfully. At least one of his ribs was broken. Klaus approached him again and squat down next to him.

"Slapped her?" And again Ryan could not ignore his question and nodded again. The next thing he heard was the harsh impact of Klaus' hand on his face. He was hit so hard his skin burst open.

"What else?" Klaus asked calmly.

Ryan was heavily breathing on the ground. He was terrified of what Klaus would do next.

"...-icked her," he crooked out almost not audible.

"I didn't hear you. You have to speak up a little. What did you do?" Klaus played with him.

"I kicked her," he whimpered, knowing what would happen next. Klaus stood up and kicked him three times.

The cries of pain were ringing in Caroline's ears and tears were streaming down her face. It was like she was standing next to herself unable to say anything, taking in all the pictures in front of her.

"How long were you together?" Klaus asked him, patiently waiting for him to catch his breath again.

"Two years," Ryan choked out.

"And in those two years how many times did you injure her? How many bones did you break her?" He looked at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"I don't know, I don't know. Please stop it, please," Ryan begged him. Ignoring his pleas Klaus continued his inquiry.

"Have you broken her arm before?"

"Yes," he admitted weakly.

Klaus reached for his arm and broke it in two places. The screams were excruciating. The pain was unbearable and he felt like passing out soon.

"Dislocate her shoulder?" Klaus kept on going as if nothing were the matter.

"Yes, yes, I did..." Ryan cried out just wanting him to finally stop.

Just a second after he had said it Klaus had dislocated his shoulder roughly.

"Please stop it already, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry, I won't do it again, please stop already," Ryan begged him, crying on the ground.

"How many times did she ask you to stop and you didn't? I don't see how you deserve lenience," Klaus replied in his usual devilish manner.

He grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up so high his feet could not reach the ground anymore.

"Judging from the bruises on her neck I assume you choked the poor girl, how does that feel? Gasping for air, desperately struggling to free yourself from your tormentor, knowing you could die any second now. How does that feel?" He asked him right next to his ear, stressing the last words. "Pushing her so far she even jumped out the window to escape you, such despicable conduct."

The next thing Ryan saw was a change of scenery. Suddenly, he was five stories high in the air. The only thing that was preventing him from falling down was Klaus' hand holding him still by his neck. Klaus was standing on the edge of the roof holding Ryan in front of him.

"You pushed her so far she thought it was okay to die. A poor innocent girl like her. Though it is you who deserves to die! You broke more than just bones, you broke her spirit over and over again. I should break yours in return, don't you agree?"

"What makes you better than me?" Ryan crooked out, having already given up. "You're even worse!"

"You're quiet right, I am worse," Klaus said and his fangs emerged through his flesh.

He bit his aorta before he let him fall down the building. A loud thud resonated through the backyard, signaling the end of his life. Caroline looked toward the lifeless body a few feet away from her shocked. For a moment she forgot to breathe and after she finally found her breath again she almost started to hyperventilate.

Content with his work Klaus jumped down the building and landed next to his dead victim. He mustered him satisfied and made his way to the girl. However, his smile vanished instantly, seeing her utterly shocked and scared. Seeing her cry.

"Caroline," he started, but she recoiled immediately. She regarded him scared.

"What are you?" She crooked out.

"A vampire," he answered, meeting her watery eyes.

She inhaled a deep breath, trying to process the information she just heard. Her body was trembling terribly.

Klaus sighed and slipped out of his jacket. He squat down next to her and slowly, as to not scare her, put it around her shoulders.

"It was not my intention to scare you," he said after a long pause. Her eyes finally met his again and he wondered what she was thinking. They were unreadable.

His attention shifted to her bruises again. She was pretty beaten up. He bit his wrist instinctively.

"You're hurt," he stated, holding his arm in front of her. "Drink this."

"What?" She looked at him bewildered.

"My blood can heal you," he explained and brought his wrist closer to her.

"No! No, I don't want to," she said afraid.

What disturbed him the most was that he was the reason behind this. He had wanted to help, instead he terrified her even more.

Was that not just like him? No one had ever accepted him for who he was. His methods were wrong they say. That he was incapable of caring or loving.

He had let this human girl suck him in and for a moment he had thought she could accept him the way he was. Why did he let a human get under his skin like this in the first place? Just to remind himself that he was nothing more than a bastard through the eyes of others?

He was about to turn away when she said something.

"I killed him. Oh my God this is all my fault."

Perplexed he turned around again and tried to make sense of her rambling.

"I killed him. I did this. I did this to him. This is my fault," she said through wrecked breathing.

She repeated herself over and over again, starting to hyperventilate.

"Stop it!" Klaus grabbed both of her hands in order to make her look at him. "Why are you saying this?"

"I asked you to free myself from him. This is my fault, I killed him..."

Klaus' eyes widened. He could not even fathom her conclusion, her guilt.

She held onto his shirt and stared into his eyes helplessly. "I am responsible for his death!"

"Why are you blaming yourself?!" He asked her puzzled.

"I made you do this. Don't you understand? -I- made you do this! You did this for me. Because I was too weak," she said through sobs. She cupped his face with her hands and her gaze became softer. "How could I have made you do something like this? I am so sorry. Forgive me."

She repeatedly apologized to him and asked him for forgiveness, while crying unrestrained in front of him.

Who is this girl? Feeling responsible for his acts, shouldering all the guilt, apologizing to him, seeking his forgiveness. How pure could someone be? The total opposite of him. Good, innocent, and angelic. She was full of light. Something inside him hurt terribly and with every tear she shed the ache became more intense. He had never felt like this before.

"I KILLED HIM! YOU HAD NO HAND IN THIS!" He pounded on his chest, emphasizing that it was him that did all these cruel things not her. Tears started to escape his eyes. He could not understand her, the only thing he did comprehend was that it was his fault she had broken down like this. "I'm the monster! Not you!"

"You're not a monster," she replied and looked at him quizzically. "How could you even think that?"

Speechless he kept staring at her. Trying to make sense of her words.

"You're good. You couldn't stay put seeing how a total stranger was being abused. You wanted to make it just. It didn't have anything to do with you and yet you gave me hope. You made me realize I'm not alone. You gave me a reason to continue living. How could you be a monster?" She looked at him questioningly. Her tears died down and she moved closer to him, putting one of her hands softly on the side of his face.

As if trying to wake her up from her naive conceptions he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm a vampire."

"You are Klaus," she replied unfazed. "The one who reached out to me. The one who saved me."

For several long moments he could not say anything. He just stared into her eyes. And without compelling her he knew she meant every word she had said. How could someone like her possibly exist?

But he was neither of the things she said. He was not good nor did he care. Remembering that Klaus finally managed to tear himself away from her.

"Enough with this nonsense!" He stood up and paced up and down in front of her. "I will not be sucked in by your pretty words. I AM THE MOST POWERFUL CREATURE ON THIS PLANET! I don't need you telling me I have not sinned! Why would I care in the first place? I am a devil in disguise! I subdue anything and ANYONE in my way!"

His voice was cold and menacingly. He had made a decision for himself. He could no longer be influenced by a mere human girl.

"Killing means nothing to me. Humans mean nothing to me. YOU mean nothing to me!" He lashed out on her.

"That's not true," she objected calmly. "I may not mean anything to you, I can't think that highly of myself. But you do feel something. Killing him made you feel something. I made you feel something. Regardless of what it is. You are not as cold and ruthless as you make yourself out to be-"

"ENOUGH! I will not have anything more of this absurdity!" He flashed in front of her, locking his eyes with hers. "You will forget anything that happened today. You will tell everyone your boyfriend left you and that you don't know where he is. You will forget about all the horrible things he did to you. You will find a new love, someone befitting for your affection. You will forget about vampires. And you will forget about me."

And with these last words he vanished in front of her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

"When will you keep your promise and finally reunite me with our siblings?" Elijah asked Klaus impatiently.

"Soon enough, brother," Klaus simply answered.

Elijah recognized that his brother had been in a foul mood for the past few days now. He did not know what had happened, but the edge in his voice suggested he was not to be trifled with for the moment.

He hang around a lot with the younger Salvatore brother. His attitude had also changed by 180 degrees. He had met him as someone deeply compassionate, but now he was just a brutal killer. He wondered if it had anything to do with the death of Elena Gilbert. Stricken with guilt he could hardly endure being in the same room as him. He had made a decision for the good of his family that does not mean he was without conscience.

"Niklaus, you gave me your word," Elijah tried again to shift his attention away from his painting he was currently working on.

"And I will keep it," he replied authoritatively. "Though it seems I give away my word too easily."

Elijah looked at him quizzically not understanding what he meant by that. However, his brother did not elaborate any further.

"Soon," Elijah repeated his brother's word with emphasis and left the room afterwards.

Shortly after his brother had left Klaus was disturbed again.

"I'm bored, Klaus. When are we finally leaving this dump?" Stefan entered Klaus' study.

Klaus sighed in response and set his brush aside for a moment. "Soon."

"You keep saying that, but we're still here," Stefan complained.

Klaus did not answer instead he just continued painting.

"Fine, don't talk to me. I guess I'll kill my time hunting some blondes in town then," Stefan said, making his way out of the room.

"No blondes," Klaus said before he could have stopped himself, making Stefan turn around curiously.

"Why?" He asked him and earned yet another sigh from Klaus in response.

"Just stay away from blondes."

"As you wish," Stefan mimicked the way Klaus talked in such an old fashion.

"Stefan," Klaus called after him who was leaving.

"Yes?"

"We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning," he said and turned his back away from the painting finally.

"I will pack my things," Stefan replied smirking and left.

For the next hour Klaus was just sitting in front of his three paintings, drinking brandy, losing himself in his thoughts. Even though he had compelled the girl to forget him that did not make him think about her less. Who would compel him to forget about her? He was furious how a mere human girl could get under his skin so deeply. He was Niklaus Mikaelson, how could he be tossed around so easily?

It was finally time to get out of this forsaken place and leave everything behind. Stefan was finally back to his old self even though he himself still did not know that. He was contemplating on when to tell his companion about how they had been friends before and decided to wait a little longer. For now he would concentrate on turning more werewolves into hybrids like himself.

"Niklaus," Elijah knocked on his door.

"We're not having this conversation again, brother," Klaus said annoyed.

"I'm not here for that."

"What is it then? Speak," Klaus replied, emptying the rest of his glass.

"A guest has arrived asking for you," Elijah stated.

"I am in no mood for company," Klaus said while pouring himself another glass.

"I think you'll want to reconsider," Elijah pressed.

Annoyed Klaus turned around to his brother, eyeing him skeptically.

"And why is that, brother? Who wants to see me this badly?"

"I don't know who this guest is, but I can tell you what the person looks like," he replied calmly.

"Do not test my patience, Elijah," Klaus said lowly.

He pointed at the three canvases in front of his brother and as expected his brother reacted to this.

"It's the girl from your paintings."

"Impossible," Klaus exhaled.

"See for yourself," Elijah said and held his arm toward the door.

Klaus immediately got up from his chair and went ahead downstairs. It was not possible for Caroline to be here. He made her forget about him. But the moment he stepped into the living room, he saw the same young girl he had pushed away before standing in front of the fire place.

She noticed him coming in and turned around with a shy smile. "Hi."

She was wearing a white summer dress with no sleeves, there was no scarf, and her hair was tied up allowing the many different colored bruises to be seen clearly. Some were fresh and had a dark purple color to it, others were fainter, indicating that they had been bestowed on her long before her last encounter with her now ex-boyfriend. Dead ex-boyfriend, Klaus thought with satisfaction.

Seeing her so bruised up sent his emotions into a turmoil. He felt strangely protective, even though the threat had long been taken care of. And yet his inner instinct screamed at him to take care of that young innocent girl, to protect her, to put her under his wings. Ironically he had always depicted her as the one with wings. Pure white wings if one was to refer to his paintings. His, on the other hand, were black; fitting for the devil he was.

Still entranced by her appearance he found himself unable to speak. Caroline noticed Klaus' eyes mustering her up and down, looking at all the bruises she was no longer hiding.

"I know, I look hideous," she let out a small nervous laugh. She paused a moment, fidgeting nervously with her hands. "I told my mum."

She let out a deep breath and now that it was out in the open she found it easier to continue.

"I told her about Ryan. How he treated me..." She trailed off, her voice becoming sad with the next part. "She was heartbroken..."

Tears started to well up in her eyes and she tried hard not to let them get the better of her.

"But I'm done," she sniffed, her voice steadier now. "I'm done hiding my bruises and my sorrow. I want to start living my life. And for the first time I want to live it for someone who is worth it."

She took a step forward, locking her eyes with his.

"I know you told me to forget about you, but I can't, Klaus," she replied, trying to remember the speech she had prepared already beforehand on her way to him. "I tried to forget about you, but I couldn't do it. Perhaps I'm being selfish when you don't even want to see me, but you have saved me. I don't want to forget about you. I don't want to forget anything that happened. Even the horrible memories, they shaped me to the person I am now. Forgetting you would mean forgetting what encouraged me to love living again. It would mean disregarding the most important change in my life."

She stepped even further, stopping right in front of him.

"It would mean burying my feelings for you," she said softly. "Which I can't. I just can't."

The confusion on Klaus' face was almost palpable. Caroline did not know he was not only trying to process her confession for him, but also the fact that apparently she remembered everything despite him having compelled her.

"I compelled you to forget about me," he said under his breath finally. "This is not possible."

"Compelled?" She looked at him puzzled.

"It's a form of mind control vampires use. I made you forget about me," Klaus explained briefly.

"But I remember everything clearly. I remember you clearly," she replied just as confused as Klaus was.

Suddenly, Klaus came up with the only explanation to this.

"Vervain," he mumbled.

"Vervain?" Caroline repeated being still bewildered.

"Did you drink vervain water?"

"I don't even know what that is," she answered helplessly.

"Let me taste your blood," Klaus said.

He had not really thought about what he had said twice. It had just been a natural conclusion to ask for her blood in order to confirm his suspicions. On second thought he was not sure he actually wanted to try her blood. Not because of the pain that he would have to bear if she indeed had taken vervain, he could handle that with ease, but rather because he did not want to let her go through the experience of a vampire sinking his teeth into her flesh; even if it was himself.

Again, where was this for him unnatural way of thinking and the sudden emotions of caring coming from?

He turned around, brushing his hand over his face, sighing. Obviously he did not mean it and dropped the idea right away.

"Okay," she simply agreed.

Klaus snapped his head back, looking at her incredulous.

And there it was again. Her purity, her innocence - her naivety. Klaus found his equilibrium again and he wanted to make sure not to be influenced by her again.

"You come to a vampire's house late in the evening and just offer yourself up willingly?" Klaus' voice sounded cold and his eyes pierced right through her.

"You asked to taste my blood and I don't see why I shouldn't let you," she answered softly.

"Haven't you seen what I am capable of? I think your ex-boyfriend is evidence enough that I don't have any scruple killing people."

"You wouldn't hurt me," Caroline replied not breaking the eye-contact.

He flashed in front of her and grabbed her by her chin.

"You think too highly of yourself," he growled only inches away from her face.

"You are kind," she said, placing her hand on the side of his face. "You wouldn't hurt me, not after you protected me and saved me from someone who was actually hurting me."

And in this moment he could not deny that. He would never be able to harm her.

Her hand was still resting on his cheek and not being able to stop himself from wanting to touch her he placed his hand on her wrist.

A sudden jolt of pain cursed through his palm and he let go of her instinctively.

The spot where he had touched her was burned like acid would. Klaus looked confused from his hand to her and then back down to her arm.

There was a brown leather bracelet hanging loosely on her wrist. And suddenly, everything made sense to Klaus.

"Your bracelet," he stated simply.

Caroline had no idea what was going on. She was still concerned about Klaus' sudden injury and inspected his hand worriedly, but was mesmerized as it healed itself so quickly in front of her.

"Your bracelet was soaked in vervain water. Did you wear this last time already?" He asked her.

"Yes, my mom gave it to me on..." She paused remembering the incidents of that day. "On the day Ryan died."

"This can only mean your mother knows about vampires and gave you this to protect you from our kind," Klaus said, emphasizing 'our kind' scornfully.

"My mother knows? I had no idea," Caroline stammered surprised.

"Which means you're probably belonging to one of the Founding Families, isn't that right?" He looked at her with cold eyes.

"Yes, I am one of the Forbes," Caroline explained.

"Now, don't tell me you're the daughter of the Sheriff?" He chuckled darkly.

"I am," Caroline admitted slowly. She did not know why he was so upset about this. Did he know her mother? Caroline had not been introduced into the duty of a member of the Founding Families yet so she did not know her mother was hunting vampires.

"And I assume you have told your mother already about the unfortunate incident that lead to your boyfriend's tragic death?" It would not really be a problem to take on some human deputies, but it bothered him that he had been so careless and, furthermore, he expected for this human girl to betray him.

"I didn't. You told me to tell everyone he left me and that I didn't know where he went," Caroline replied, unsure of why his attitude was so cold.

Klaus was yet again surprised by her. He thought he had compelled her and it turned out he did not, but she still did what he asked her to.

"Why would you listen to me when you're not even compelled?" He could not comprehend this.

"I don't know what this whole compelling is supposed to be or supposed to do. The only thing I know is that you wanted me to keep what happened a secret," Caroline explained herself, looking at him with her wide innocent blue eyes.

"And you did?" It was more a rhetorical question.

"Yes, I didn't want you to get in trouble," Caroline said sincerely.

This human girl was a mystery to him. All the experience he had gained over centuries reading people's motives and intentions were useless when it came to this girl. He was completely and utterly at a loss.

"If you remember everything, if you remember what I am, why are you here?" Klaus looked baffled into her eyes.

"Because..." She tried to overcome her nervousness. "Because I fell in love with you."

Her big blue eyes looked at him imploringly, wanting him to believe her, wanting him to accept her.

She was nervous about how he would react to her confession, but she would have never guessed he would react like this.

Klaus started laughing.

He turned around and walked to the living room's stash of booze, all the while laughing.

"That one is good," he said between laughs. "You falling in love with me? Tell your mother she has to come up with something better than that."

He poured himself a drink and made his way to the couch, slumping down nonchalantly.

"You really think I would fall for that?" He asked amused, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

If his feelings were hurt because he thought the human girl he took an unfathomable interest in was here by order of the sheriff to seduce him for no other reason than to find a way to kill him he had much worse coming. His heart contracted painfully by the sight that was displayed in front of him now.

The hurt in the young blonde's eyes was heartbreaking. Tears were silently pouring down and she was unable to look at him, too dejected to face him.

"I-I have to go," she stuttered and tried to hurry outside.

She had been serious...

Klaus squinted his eyes shut almost painfully, a deep frown marring his forehead. He exhaled in irritation, mainly because of himself, and struggled whether he should go after her.

Before Caroline could reach for the front door's door handle Klaus had rushed in front of her, blocking her way outside.

Her sad expression was agonizing. The tears did not seem to stop from falling and together with her quiet sobs they found their way under Klaus' skin.

Not wanting to bear seeing her crying any longer he reached out for her and wiped the tears away affectionately.

He sighed, being at an utter loss. Words did not seem to find their way outside his mouth, though he tried several times to say something. Being sorry was an emotion he did not feel very often and the word sorry itself did not seem to be in his vocabulary.

But she understood. He was trying to apologize and that was already enough for her. It was the thought that counted.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to..." Caroline said, a forgiving smile formed on her saddened face. "My mother didn't send me. She doesn't even know about you."

Klaus nodded, believing her now. How could he have ever doubted this pure hearted girl? He was just too perplexed having never before encountered such a good natured innocent human. It took time getting used to her. Especially if you are Niklaus Mikealson who was probably the complete opposite of her.

"I have the feeling you don't love easily," she started, staring into his eyes. "I'm not expecting you to love me. I'm just..."

She cupped his hands that were still resting on her face. "Asking you to let me love you."

Now tears were escaping Klaus' eyes and he was too preoccupied by her words that he could have even tried to stop them. There was this honest and sincere girl that was proclaiming that she loved him. Him - a vampire, a murderer, a devil.

"That's already enough for me," she said with teary eyes.

That was the final straw. The last push over the cliff.

He leaned close and kissed her. All the raw emotions surfaced in this one kiss. He cradled her face tenderly and pulled her closer to him, leaving no space between them.

His hand found the small of her back and he lifted her up a little, pressing his lips even more eagerly onto hers. Full of golden locks he enjoyed the soft feeling of her hair in his fist. Turning around he pressed her against the front door and lifted one of her legs against his side. She followed suit and soon wrapped both her legs around his waist. Her hands went gently through his hair and he welcomed the feel of it. His beard stubbles prickled lightly on her lips, but Caroline did not mind. She cupped his face and stroked affectionately over his cheeks.

Feeling the loss of oxygen starting to make her feel light headed she had to tear herself away from him to gasp for air. He let her catch her breath and in the meantime worked his mouth over the tender skin of her neck, eliciting an enticing moan from her.

"So all you want is to stay beside me?" He whispered raw beside her ear while his hand moved along her upper thigh.

"Yes," she crooked out.

"I will grant your wish then," he replied, but she could not see the devilish smile on his face while he said that.

He had taken a liking to this intriguing human and he decided to keep her by his side. After all he was a devil and he could do what he wanted. And she turned out to be the perfect distraction for his boredom...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on a sequel.


End file.
